


The Witch of Ash

by Catrillion



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), a new enemy arrives, character death mention, the bonds of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26083363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catrillion/pseuds/Catrillion
Summary: The Elder Dragon is gone, and Selphia which has long been guarded by her presence is for the first time left unprotected. When a new enemy arrives, it’s up to Frey and her friends to protect their home. But this enigmatic foe is a threat to more than just the city: it turns out she has a power that threatens the entire world.Their new foe turns out to be an Earthmate, but she has turned dark and wants to take all of the runes in Selphia. It seems the only thing that can stop her is another Earthmate, but when this Enemy reveals a link to her lost past, what will Frey choose?
Relationships: Arthur/Frey (Rune Factory)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9
Collections: Rune Factory Big Bang





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Rune Factory Big Bang event- this was a great experience and I'm so happy to have been a part of it! Make sure you check out all of the stories and art in the collection, because all of it is so so great.
> 
> The fantastic art was done by [kyalpico](kyalpico.tumblr.com). Check out their blog for a lot more wonderful art!

Selphia was so much quieter without Venti- every corner of town was disturbed by her absence. Frey was shocked by how much reminded her of her friend. She struggled even just tending the field knowing that the atrium so close-by was empty. Over the better part of the past year she had come up with every distraction possible to occupy her time and, thankfully, her thoughts. It had been midway through Autumn when she first offered to help Arthur with his work- he had of course initially politely declined- and had realized just how effective at eating away the bulk of her day his trade work was. Now she spent most every day assisting Arthur. He was kind enough to not comment on her goal of self-distraction and simply thanked her for her help every evening as she left.

“Oh, Frey,” Arthur blurted out, bringing Frey back into the present. She jolted, which he thankfully didn’t see. She glanced back at his desk to see it vacant- he was instead standing at the window on the other side of the room, staring out at the darkening sky. “It looks like there could be a storm rolling in. We should wrap this up for now so you can get home safely.”

She opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. Her face flushed crimson as she grappled with whether or not she could bring herself to admit that she didn’t want to go back this early, even if it did look like there could be a storm later on. She could handle a little rain, couldn’t she?

Arthur looked back at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Hmm?”

As always he had read her and knew what she was thinking without her having to say a word. “I understand. I can sleep here in the office if you want to sleep in my-”

“What! No, Arthur, I wouldn’t ask you to do that!”

“Well, as much as I would enjoy it, it would be improper to invite you and stay in the room as well,” he added with a small chuckle.

“Geez,” she huffed, laughing as well.

He averted his gaze, almost as if it was a physical way to avoid the elefun in the room. “Frey, I know that you... ahem, not to say that I don’t enjoy your company, but I am aware that have been spending time with me to avoid thinking about her.”

“You know that’s not the only reason, Arty.”

He grinned. “Of course not. I know that. But I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand how much you miss Ventuswill. I know I am not comparable company, but I want you to know you always have a place to stay when you can’t face returning to the castle. It’s the least I can do as thanks for taking my place there to begin with.”

“Arthur...”

He had closed the gap between them as he spoke and now was standing in front of her. He kneeled down before her and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. “I am not one to talk, but you could stand to ask more of others. Anything you need, I will be here for you.”

An errant tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it with her free hand. He was right- she was so quick to expect herself to handle all of this alone. After how many years she’d lived there, why was she always forgetting that there were so many people here who cared about her and knew exactly what she was going through? She whispered down at him, “Thank you, Arty.”

Arthur’s face was gentle as he raised up and kissed her softly. He pulled away only a few inches and whispered back, “Anytime, Princess.” He was squeezing her hand again and asked, “So what do you say? Shall I make up a bed here in the office?”

Frey giggled. “No, but thank you. I have crops to take care of, right?”

“Very true. I’ll come by the castle around lunchtime then to check on you.”

“Ah! Good, you’ll actually take a break from work for once!”

He laughed. “Shall I walk you home?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not far, and I don’t want you walking back in the rain.” She kissed him again before standing up from the chair.

“Alright. Goodbye, Frey.” She waved and forced a final smile as she exited the building and made her way out onto the street.

Frey took the long way home- she could have cut straight through her field and gotten there in no time, but as much comfort as Arthur had been she still was not interested in going straight home. The clouds weren’t that close, and even if they had been... Well, like she said, she could handle rain.

She walked absently, more letting her feet take her wherever they pleased while she focused more on emptying her head. A sparse drizzle picked up now and again but it still didn’t ever get bad enough to draw her out of her meandering. She still was hardly aware of her surroundings when she turned a corner in the housing district and smacked into Forte doing her nightly rounds.

“Oh! Frey! Good evening!”

She was hardly in the mood to make conversation, but she made herself look excited and waved at Forte. “Good evening! Doing a final patrol?”

“Yes, just finishing up actually. Nothing to report this time. Are you on your way home?” Frey responded with an “mm-hm” and Forte nodded in response. “Good idea. It’s really going to be storming in a few minutes.”

“I hope it doesn’t get too bad overnight,” Frey said. At least the conversation was light.

Forte opened her mouth to respond when the sound of commotion cut her off. She turned and looked back behind her, toward the town square, and the two stood quietly for a few beats before another sharp scream echoed around them.

Forte went into attack mode instantly- her entire body stiffened and as though by instinct her hand was already clamped around her sword’s hilt. She didn’t bother even waiting long enough to explain herself. With eyes trained on the path toward the town square, she had already taken off and made three long strides in that direction before Frey had even really processed what they’d heard. She exhaled a quick “Forte, wait for me!” before bounding after her.

The square was fairly empty- most of the tourists had surely holed up in the inn by now- but there was a small crowd of people clamoring toward the castle, their raised voices overlapping as they raced toward safety. But safety from what? Frey broke her gaze from them and turned her head toward the town gate. She gasped at the sight. A young man she recognized as a traveling salesman hadn’t been so lucky at escaping and was held by the throat against the stone wall by a cloaked figure. He was struggling, gasping, and that’s when Frey saw the knife to his throat. A second person- also donning a cloak which obscured their figure, had been following the crowd toward the castle entrance but stopped in their tracks when they saw Forte and Frey race onto the scene.

Forte drew her sword and barked, “Who are you?!” That made the first cloaked figure turn their head towards them as well. They kept the blade at the salesman’s jugular but raised their previously-hunched down body to show just how tall they were. Forte shouted at them in particular, “Put him down! Now!”

They laughed- a low chuckle that made Frey shiver. Their partner pulled out a second blade and pointed it at Forte wordlessly. Frey drew her sword and pointed it at them in turn. Now it was her turn to ask the questions. “Hey! Who are you two? What are you doing in Selphia?”

“Oh, look at this, it’s Frey,” the tall figure said, his voice a quiet purr. But no matter how soft his voice had been, his words echoed in Frey’s ears as though they’d boomed from an earth-shattering explosion.

“How do you know my-?!”

He dropped the salesman, surprising her into stopping her words. The salesman faltered for a moment, clearly stunned, before he scrambled out of the castle gate and across the drawbridge. The figure chuckled again, disregarding his escaping prey, and hissed, “Frey the Earthmate. What a coincidence, running into you here.”

Forte glanced back at Frey- one look at her thunderstruck expression and Forte realized how rattled she was. She whipped back around and took a step forward. “I asked you a question! Who are you two?!”

The silent figure looked back at their companion- still not saying anything- as if asking what they should do next. The tall man began to close the gap between himself and Forte and Frey. Forte got into a readied stance in response. The man disregarded her and only addressed Frey. “So it’s true. That Dragon really is gone.”

“W-what?”

“It would have surely showed up to face us if it were still here, but all I see is you two.” He was close enough now that Frey could see the crooked grin spread over his shrouded face. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, but even so, it’s undeniable that it’s gone. And two little girls, even if one is an Earthmate, should be easy enough to handle.”

Forte huffed. “Underestimating us will be your downfall.”

The silent intruder laughed and finally spoke in a rough voice like sandpaper. “So she is gone, then?”

Frey felt her blood boil and without even thinking the words ripped out of her. “What do you care about Venti?!” She was startled by her own outburst and gasped soundlessly. She became suddenly aware that she was crying too.

“Yes, Ventuswill.” The tall man’s smile hadn’t faltered at all. “We’d heard that dragon had finally fallen, but you can’t just trust rumors, can you? So we had to see for ourselves.” He pointed his knife at them and the other man took this as an order to advance. As the previously-silent man approached the two, the tall man continued, “And now we just need to get rid of you two, and everything will finally be ready.”

Forte ran at him and metal hit metal as the second blocked her and parried her sword. At that exact moment a crack of thunder rang out around them. The storm was here in full force now. Frey wiped the tears and the rain from her eyes and joined Forte, her duel blades in hand. She forced herself between the two mercenaries and blocked the tall man while wailing the other from behind. He exclaimed and whirled around, his blade scraping loudly as he broke from his counter against Forte. Frey spun around, knocking the tall man back with one sword and blocking the blow from above from the other.

The tall man chuckled. “Come on, Earthmate, you must have other tricks up your sleeve.”

Forte had again drawn away the second merc and shouted, “I have this one, Frey! Focus on the one with the mouth!”

Frey nodded, turning her full attention on the man. “Fine, you want a show? I can give you a show!”

She tossed her duel blades up over her head and threw her hands forward, jets of pressured water blasting from her palms. The man grunted as the water smashed against him and threw his cape in front of him to block it. He was still bracing himself when Frey leapt up and snatched the blades as they came back down, turning into a spin as she assailed him repeatedly on the way to the ground.

He stumbled backwards and regarded his cape, now hanging in ribbons in front of him. He caught his breath, probably cursing himself for taunting her, and reached back into a concealed sheath. He dropped the knife and replaced it with a sword, the blade of which was a wave, not unlike a snake. The thick liquid oozing from the tip of the blade- what she could only imagine was some kind of synthetic venom- only helped that comparison.

The last thing she needed today was to be poisoned, she decided, and she quickly waved her arm around herself to summon a barrier of light to block his attacks. That gave her an idea, and again she cast barriers all around her, which appeared in a flash of light the same moment that lighting lit up the sky around them. He stabbed at the barrier repeatedly, bouncing off of it and getting more agitated with each thrust.

His attention on the barrier, Frey spun around him, the dark stormclouds and heavy rain helping to obscure her as she appeared behind him and stabbed him in the back just below the shoulder. He exclaimed, both from pain and from surprise, and dropped the poison blade.

The tall man fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Frey threw back his hood, revealing a mop of brown hair pulled back in one thick plait. He looked up at her, the grin long gone. A small trickle of blood was pouring from the crease between his lips.

“Who are you and why do you care if Venti is here or not?” she asked again.

He spat at her and she jumped back in shock.

He laughed, which clearly pained him to do, and she hit her hilt against the side of his head to shut him up. He fell back and was out like a light.

“Frey!” Forte approached, her merc also slumped on the wet stones. He seemed to be fighting to stay upright, but from the way he was swaying Frey could tell he was about to lose that battle. “Did he tell you anything?”

“No, nothing,” she huffed.

“Damn,” Forte mumbled. Another boom of thunder ripped through the air around them. The other merc finally also collapsed flat on his face just as the lightning followed.

Forte began to walk back to him. She turned him over so as to keep him from drowning in the inch of water and in the same second that his back hit the square floor, one of the castle doors- the one which led to the butlers’ quarders- inched open. Vishnal popped his head out and squeaked, “What’s going on out-“ The moment his eyes met Frey and Forte’s, he stopped himself and swung the door open fully. “Oh my-! Princess, Miss Forte!” He ran over, disregarding the torrential rain completely. “Are you okay?!”

Frey was frozen in place, shaken. Forte exhaled, the unconscious body of the once-again-silent man slung over her shoulder. “We’re fine. We took care of the intruders for now.” She looked between Frey and the other man who was finally starting to lose his own battle with his consciousness. Forte turned back toward Vishnal. “Help me get these men into the dungeon. We have to find out why they’re here.”

That broke Frey out of her shock. “Dungeon?”

Vishnal was trying to remain calm but she could hear the only barely-contained rise in his voice as he responded, ”Yes, we have a dungeon on the bottom floor of the castle- barely used, as you can imagine.”

Forte continued, “They mentioned Ventuswill. And they knew Frey.”

“What?!” Vishnal had been in the middle of lifting up the tall man’s now lifeless body but threw his hands up in surprise and dropped him onto the stone flooring with a loud smack. If the situation hadn’t been what it was, Frey would have thought it was hilarious.

Forte didn’t seem to find much humor in it either; she pushed passed Vishnal toward the castle doors with a gruff “come on, Vishnal”. He looked at Frey, the whirlwind of emotions clear as day on his face sporting both a sheepish blush and eyes wide with shock. He looked like he wanted to say something but held it back, lifting the tall man with a small grunt. He wasn’t able to sling him over his shoulder as Forte had, so Frey gave him a hand and lifted the man by his legs. Vishnal smiled in thanks and they wordlessly carried the man out of the rain and down into the dungeon.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the next morning before the taller attacker- the one that Forte and Frey quickly surmised was the leader of the two- finally awoke. Vishnal was still standing guard and jolted the moment he saw the man’s eyes slowly flutter open. “Oh! Oh!” He bounced on his heels for a moment before zooming out of the room and into the hall where Forte and Frey had at one point been also standing guard but had long since dozed off.

“Forte! Frey! He’s awa- Oh, er, Good morning! Hello, hi!” Frey woke with a start at his anxious shouting and shook Forte up as well. Forte looked groggily up at Vishnal, sleep still in her eyes. He started again, “Good morning, Princess! Forte! He’s awake now, the man in there, I mean, he just woke up!”

“Oh!” Forte exclaimed. Frey got the impression that in her not-quite-yet-awake state, Forte had forgotten where she was and what they’d experienced the night before. But with that reminder she was back to business. She stood and made her way into the dungeon block, Frey and Vishnal following just behind.

When they got there, he was stood up, his arms crossed. Probably waiting for them to arrive.

Forte looked the man up and down. “What is your name?”

The man ignored her completely, his eyes instead boring into Frey. The intensity made Frey want to fidget and break eye contact and maybe even cower behind Forte like she would bet money Vishnal was doing at this exact moment, but she held her ground. “She asked you a question.”

The man laughed at that, a cruel and biting laugh that echoed against the flat stone walls of his cell. Behind Forte and Frey, she heard Vishnal take two quick steps back in response.

Frey in turn stepped forward. “I’m not playing around,” she snapped. “What were you doing here? What does Venti have to do with anything?”

The man stifled another chuckle. “Sorry Frey, I’m not at liberty to answer that.”

Forte made a small gasp that finally broke Frey’s gaze from the man. Forte opened her mouth to say something but quickly stopped herself. Her face was downturned, her brow sharply drawn into a V. Frey looked back at the man who was still so unconcerned with Forte that he was still staring Frey down, a lopsided smirk on his lips.

Frey looked between Forte and the man. Forte’s face was stone, unreadable. She finally focused back on him and continued, “And how do you know who I am? Do I know you?”

He shrugged. “I doubt it.”

“Then why do you know my name?!” He just smirked silently. A moment passed before Frey took another step closer. “Well?!”

When he still didn’t answer, she turned back to Forte. She silently pleaded with her eyes for Forte to help back her up with even one question, but Forte was still deep in thought contemplating who knows what. Frey swallowed back her frustration and grabbed Forte by the arm, leading her out of the room. Vishnal bounced on his heels again, unsure whether to follow or the stay back and stand guard.

Frey dragged Forte to the top of the dungeon staircase, far enough away that she could be sure the mercenary wouldn’t hear them talking. “What happened back there?”

Forte raised her chin and gestured her head back at the stairs behind them. “He said he’s not ‘at liberty to answer your question.’” She paused as if she’d answered anything, and when Frey made no indication of understanding she continued, “He’s not the boss. He’s working for somebody.”

Frey turned on her heel, coming within of inches of making herself tumble down the stairs. “You think so?!”

“Definitely. So he might not be telling us anything because he doesn’t know the real plan. If we can find out who the leader is, then we can-“

Forte hadn’t even finished her sentence when Frey had bolted back down the stairs, making a sharp turn and only barely avoiding smacking into the wall at the bottom of the staircase. Forte was a few steps behind her, but in terms of knowing what Frey was thinking, she was way ahead of her.

Frey burst past Vishnal, who yelped, and was once again staring the merc down. He was no longer smirking. Forte came in behind Frey and opened her mouth but the man cut her off, surprising both the women. “Keep walking. I’m not saying another word.”

Frey stepped forward. “We know you aren’t the one calling the shots. Who are you guys working for?”

As expected, his only response was to set his jaw and narrow his eyes.

“Please,” Frey continued. She stepped even closer, now an arm’s length from the bars. “You have to understand! Whoever your boss is, their business is with me and with Venti- Ventuswill,” she corrected herself. “So let us- let me deal with them! Do you really think they want to involve innocent merchants?”

That elicited a small chuckle. “Uh... yeah. She does, actually.”

Forte spoke again. “She?”

The man was, frustratingly, silent once more.

Vishnal stepped forward now. “Why don’t we just leave him down here for a while? We can go and eat something and be back later when he’s ready to talk.”

“Sure. A few days sound good?” Forte said, turning for the stairs.

Vishnal’s face fell. “That isn’t what I had in mind!”

Frey shrugged. “Eh, it works for me.”

“You really want to know, huh?”

“What?”

“I mean, what’s it matter if I tell you her name?” He growled. “She’ll be here soon anyway to kill you.”

Forte snapped, “Hey-!”

As always, the man disregarded her completely and just continued talking. “You are both nothing but bugs to her.”

“We can skip this nonsense,” Frey hissed. “Who is she? What does she want?”

“Wilhelmina. The Witch of Ash. And as for what she wants...” He was so close now, his face mere inches away from the bars. “She wants all of Norad.”

\---

Frey stepped into the town square and was greeted by a bright sheet of sunshine- all the same, her mind felt like it was in a fog. A witch? What did that mean? And she still didn’t understand what that had to do with Venti. She blinked back the blinding noontime sun as well as the swirling storm raging inside of her, and only then did she notice Arthur standing just ten paces from her, his shoulder pressed against the castle wall for support. There was concern on his face, deep concern, and it occurred to her that he was also so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t seen her either.

“Arthur,” she called, and his slight jolt confirmed her suspicions. His eyes focused on her and he straightened himself.

He rushed closer and clasped her hands in his. “Frey, are you alright? I heard what happened, that there was an attack.”

Frey forced a smile. She hoped it seemed genuine enough. “Yes, but everything is fine now.”

Arthur seemed unconvinced. He hesitated, clearly a thousand questions on his tongue, before simply asking, “What were they here for?”

“I… don’t know. But we know who sent them. Have you ever heard of a witch named Wilhelmina?”

“Hmm. The name doesn’t sound familiar. But- a witch?”

“That’s what he said.” She paused. “She is on her way here to take Selphia. That’s what these two were here for, was to make sure Venti wasn’t around to stop them. And they knew who I was, too.”

“That’s concerning,” Arthur muttered. He considered a moment. “So this Wilhelmina is coming here?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Forte’s voice cut in from behind them. She was brandishing her sword showily, determination plastered over her face. “I’m not going to let her get anywhere near Selphia. We’re going to find out where she’s hiding and catch her before she gets here.”

Arthur was silent while Frey turned to Forte. “You think we can find her?”

“We don’t have much choice. If she’s already on the way, she could get here before we get words back from the scouts in the area. I say you and I travel through the surrounding area and see what we can find.”

“I like that plan,” Frey said, nodding. She looked behind Forte to see Vishnal, intense worry painted over his pale face. “Hey, don’t worry Vishnal. Forte and I are going out there to find Wilhelmina. While we’re gone, I need you to keep an eye on these two, okay? Maybe you can get more out of them in case we can’t find the Witch.”

Vishnal nodded vigorously. “I promise princess, I will not let you down!”

Just as he finished his oath, Frey was shocked by the sudden weight that fell atop her from behind. She didn’t have to ask who it was, because she hadn’t even had time to yelp when Leon spoke up from right on top of her. “We have full faith in you, Vishnal.”

There was that usual Leon hint of sarcasm in his voice, but Vishnal only nodded. Frey, who was starting to crumple under Leon’s weight, looked up at him. His elbow was digging into her collarbone. “What are you doing here?”

“Word travels fast around here. And if you’re dealing with some kind of mercenary that knows about Earthmates, it’d be smart for us to come too.” He gestured to Dylas, who Frey hadn’t yet noticed. He looked intense, somehow even more so than usual, and didn’t really acknowledge that Leon had spoken of him.

Frey shoved Leon off of her. “Really? Thank you,” she exhaled. She considered a moment. “Maybe, though, one of you should stay behind with Vishnal to help protect the town. In case…”

“In case? Please, Frey, with the four of us-“

Forte cut him off. “Frey is right. There’s no telling what forces Wilhelmina has, or if we’ll even be able to find her. We can’t leave Selphia unguarded.”

Leon shrugged. “Fine. Dylas, I’ll be sure to tell you all about the trip.”

“Wha-! Hey, why does that just mean _you’re_ going?”

“You get lost just walking to Dragon Lake.”

“Like hell I do!”

The two continued their argument as Arthur placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “Frey,” he breathed. He was putting a lot of work into speaking calmly, but there was an undercurrent of urgency. “I’m coming with you. Don’t try to tell me to stay behind too. You can’t talk me out of this one.” He added a smile at the end, one of his _negotiation_ smiles.

“Wait, Arthur-”

He cut her off, his argument clearly having already been formed before he got her attention. “You said those men were very focused on you. You said that they even knew your name. There’s a chance they’re after you in particular. And if that is the case, I can’t just stay behind.”

Frey chuckled. There was no point arguing with him. “Well, you did say I can’t talk you out of this, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay. I’d be happy to have you there. Thank you.”

He kissed her cheek. “Of course, Frey.”

She was still worried, but she had to admit that having Arthur with her was comforting. For that moment, she decided it was okay to let herself feel assured that they could do this.


	3. Chapter 3

Nearly a full day had come and gone as the company trekked through Selphia Plains and beyond, the forest growing thicker and the oaks more towering the further they traveled beyond the Summer Spring. Leon had spent the first few hours trying to make menial chit-chat with Frey, but she hadn’t been in the mood to play along this time. He had since graduated into annoying Forte by making inane arguments about why he was better suited to lead this party. The fact that he was doing it just to get under her skin had been completely lost on her, so the past hour had been consumed entirely by their bickering.

Frey welcomed this, though. While the focus was on their nonsense, she was able to think over everything the mercenaries had said. After everything that had happened that Spring, when Venti gave her life to help her defeat Ethelberd, she had at least been able to find some form of solace in the thought that her sacrifice had brought them peace. But now not even a year had gone by and that belief had been shattered. If this witch Wilhelmina had really just been lying in wait for the day that Ventuswill was gone, how many others were out there with that same goal? Had Venti really just died for nothing?

“Are you okay?” Arthur murmured, his voice low enough that the two heads of the team couldn’t hear. She blinked in confusion and looked at him a moment before he continued, “You look…”

When he didn’t finish his sentence, she finished it for him. “Worried?”

He looked down at the overgrown path they were following and shook his head. “Worried I would understand, given the circumstances. No, you look angry.”

She stopped in her tracks and after a moment Arthur noticed and stopped too, turning back to her. “Frey?”

Frey hesitated. Was she angry? She wanted to say no, but having heard him just… _say_ it, she suddenly felt that rage rising in her chest. It was like a spell where once given a name, it was set free. Yes, she was angry. She was angry that these mercenaries had to come and ruin their peace. She was angry that a witch- somebody none of them knew or had ever done anything to- had wanted her friend dead. She was angry that she was out to destroy her home.

She exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Yeah, I guess I am. I just-“ She clenched and unclenched her fists as she struggled to find the words. “I want to find her. I want to find her and get this over with.”

Arthur placed a hand gently on Frey’s arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll find Wilhelmina.”

She smiled back at him. She opened her mouth to thank him but was cut off by an unknown voice that hissed, “Or… she’ll find you.”

Frey and Arthur jolted and both turned on their heels at once but it wasn’t quick enough. In a flash there were knives at both of their throats. Half a dozen hooded mercenaries were surrounding them, no doubt having been hiding in the trees around them. How long had they been watching? Waiting? Frey’s swords were in hand but the same snake-like voice laughed, “Drop them.”

She started to object but stopped when she felt another blade pushed against her side. Another hooded figure, this one a woman from the sound of her voice, chuckled, “better do what he says.”

Arthur breathed through gritted teeth, “Don’t worry about me, okay? We’re going to be fi-“

“That’s enough outta you,” another said, and Frey heard the unmistakable sound of a fist connecting with the side of his head. She whirled around but was grabbed by many sets of hands. She got a glimpse of Arthur, still on his feet but clearly reeling, when her eyes were blindfolded by a rough cloth. She struggled against the grips on her arms and torso, but the next thing she knew she was being restrained by ropes and led somewhere- she couldn’t see it, but she could feel the worn old stone become uneven ground. She was being led off the path and into the trees, and she could only hope that Arthur was coming too.

It wasn’t long before she was shoved- hard- against the dirt. She heard a sound of impact behind her and didn’t have to assume; a moment later the cloth was gone and she could see that Arthur had also been thrown down. She shouldn’t have been relieved to see him hurt, but then again at least she knew he wasn’t dead.

“Damn, you too?” Leon’s voice. Frey turned to her left. There were Leon and Forte, also tied and bruised.

“Are you guys okay?” Frey breathed. It was a stupid question, but it left her lips almost automatically.

“Just perfect,” Leon answered.

“We got separated,” Forte said, squeezing her eyes shut. “All because I wasn’t paying attention. They saw an opening and-“

“This isn’t your fault, Forte,” Arthur said. Frey looked back at him. She could already see a purple bruise forming behind his eye and cheekbone. It was just like him to focus on others rather than his own pain.

“Really, it’s kinda Leon’s fault,” Frey added.

“Hey, that’s low,” he said, not quite denying the accusation.

Arthur continued, “What’s important is we’re all still alive.”

“Not for long,” Leon muttered, looking up. Frey’s eyes followed his and she saw a dark figure in a cloak approaching from the tangle of trees ahead of them. This wasn’t a thief’s cloak like the other mercenaries wore, though. It was a muddy red with a dark fur trim, a gold chain hanging across the front to fasten it around the woman’s vest and chest plate. In her belt were multiple ornate swords, none matching and probably all stolen from other people as stupid as Frey and the others to hunt her down. She pulled back her hood to show her sickly-pale face, piercing green eyes, and mouth pulled back in a toothy grin. Her black hair was done in a large loose braid that cascaded over her shoulder, her floppy bangs casting a shadow over her face. A few small chunks of hair were dyed a deep orange, which hung loose and danced like a fire in the once-again picking up wind.

This woman- who she was sure had to be Wilhelmina- sneered at their group, her eyes scanning over them one by one. When her eyes met Frey’s, though, that sneer completely melted away. Her mouth gaped open and in a near-whisper she breathed, “I can’t believe it.” She was laughing again, but this was nothing like the biting cackle that had first echoed through the woods. This was something entirely different. “It’s you. Frey.”

The words struck Frey like a punch to her face, complete with the swimmy moment where she had to blink away stars. “How do you-?!”

“So they chose you to deliver the rune stones to that dragon then, did they?” The dark smile was returning now. “Of course they did. You always were their favorite.”

“What- Why-“ Frey sputtered, her mind still reeling. “How do you know about the rune stones for Venti?”

She was still grinning but confusion was seeping up from underneath. “Have the years really been so unkind to me that you can’t recognize me?”

Arthur was the one who finally spoke. “You’re an Earthmate too.” He said it flatly. It wasn’t a question.

Frey looked between him and the witch. “You’re-? But… why…?”

“Why?” Wilhelmina repeated in bemusement.

“If you’re an Earthmate, why are you trying to take over Norad? Why do you want Venti dead?”

The grin fell from her face instantly. “Are you… Are you joking?” She shouted the second time.

“No, I-“

“What game are you playing, asking me that?” She took a step forward and the group all held their collective breaths.

“She lost her memories,” Forte finally said, “when she arrived in Selphia.”

Wilhelmina exhaled sharply. Thankfully that was enough to sate her and she was no longer advancing on them, but she looked no less angry. She leaned down, looking Frey over. “Did you now? Well, isn’t that something. If only all of us could be that lucky.”

“What happened to you? How did you end up like… this?”

That got her laughing again, which she didn’t like to hear. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?” She stood herself back up to full height and turned from them, walking toward a nearby tree. As she talked she ran a finger down the trunk in a wavy pattern. “That job, the all-important job that they gave to you- finding a way to save the Elder Dragon- they stole from _me_. Those small-minded cowards stole it from me and banished me.”

“Banished you? Why?”

Her lips curled devilishly. “Because in my studies… I learned a little trick.” The finger that had once been tracing gently down the grooves of the tree bark sparked, and there was the sound of a sharp crack. A gust whipped against their faces and the four were thrown back, Forte struggling in a futile fight against the ropes to raise her hand and block the wind from her eyes. Wilhelmina continued to drag her finger along the tree’s length, but now as she scraped her nail down the bark was curling back, cracking and falling off in large chunks. Something akin to rot began forming along the line she was drawing. Before their eyes the tree was withering, cracking, dying.

The ground rumbled and shockwaves rolled through the dirt below them. Frey rolled forward. “You’re-! You’re sucking out the runes!”

“And why not? I spent enough of my life replenishing them, shouldn’t I get to take some back?”

Frey inhaled and clenched her hands. After a moment she summoned fire in her fingers, the ropes twisting and then falling off around her. She was up in an instant. Frey drew a sword and ran at Wilhelmina. “How could you!”

She was unfazed. With her free right hand she snatched Frey’s swordarm and dug her nails into Frey’s skin. “It’s actually lucky you came here,” she hissed. “I’ve wanted to try this on an Earthmate for years.”

Frey began to protest but suddenly she felt lightheaded. A bright orb was pulled forth from her open mouth and all at once she felt like she was falling- falling into a heavy, deep emptiness. She could hear the other’s shouts of surprise, but they sounded miles away, like she was hearing their voices from under water. The world around her was going black but Wilhelmina was glowing brighter and brighter, her pupils burning with blue light. She made a useless attempt to pull herself away but she had no control of her body. She felt herself going limp, crumpling down to the ground below her, her entire world fading into nothing…


	4. Chapter 4

Frey couldn’t remember the exact moment she regained consciousness, but after an eternity in the dark nothing she realized she was in somebody’s arms and she was being carried. Somebody’s voice was speaking to her but it might as well have been an entirely different language. The only thing she was sure of was that she was tired. No, more than tired. She didn’t have words enough to describe her exhaustion, nor the presence of mind to articulate it even if she had. She dipped in and out of the world- she didn’t know if she’d been carried for only minutes or for weeks. One time she came to just long enough to hear Forte say, “Come on, I know it was this way.” And in another infinite second, she heard the unlatching of a door.

“It’s open,” Leon’s voice breathed from above her. It must have been him who was carrying her, then.

“Come on, quick,” Arthur answered him, already inside what she assumed was one of the empty homes she knew were scattered throughout the forest. She didn’t remember being laid down, but the next thing she knew she was on a cold, straw-filled mattress.

Frey felt Arthur’s soft hands brush gently against her face as he pushed her hair aside. She didn’t have the energy to even open her eyes to look up at him, but she could imagine the worried expression he was probably donning. She wanted to say something- anything- to try to reassure him that she was alright. But the exhaustion she felt was so pervasive that she simply couldn’t.

Arthur sighed, still leaning over her. “She’s asleep.” His voice was quiet and she couldn’t tell if he was concerned or relieved. Maybe both? His thumb caressed her forehead one final time before he stood and turned toward Leon. There was silence between the two for a while before Arthur again spoke. “What she did to Frey…”

Silence again. She heard Leon’s footsteps as he crossed the room and approached Arthur. “Don’t worry. She just needs to rest.”

“She…” Arthur was quiet, probably searching for the right words. “When Lady Ventuswill had her rune power drained, she… Is Frey going to…”

Leon jumped in before Arthur could finish his question. “Frey just needs some rest and then she’ll be fine.” He was projecting an air of confidence but Frey caught the uncertainty hiding underneath.

“You’re sure?” Arthur said. He must not have heard it himself. That was for the best.

“Of course,” Leon responded. “She has had her rune energy drained, but Frey is an Earthmate. She’ll be able to replenish her runes soon.”

Arthur looked back at Frey. “How long is she going to be out? Lady Ventuswill slept for so long…”

“I’m not sure. Hopefully not long, because if anybody is going to stop that witch-“

“We can’t expect Frey to face her again,” Arthur snapped. It was the angriest she’d ever heard him. “When she does wake up I refuse to ask that of her.”

“Come on, Arthur. You know Frey.” Arthur didn’t respond. Leon continued, “She’s going to demand to face off with her before she’s even steady on her feet.”

“I know,” Arthur said while exhaling. “But Frey… If I lost her…”

“Yeah?” She could hear the cheeky smile Leon was wearing while he said that, which really made her wish she could raise her arm and push him.

Arthur either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “You must know how badly Frey took losing Lady Ventuswill. It was hard for all of us, but Frey…” He paused and she could imagine he was shaking his head. “If Wilhelmina wants something to do with Ventuswill, you’re right. Frey isn’t going to let this go. But if she goes the same way Ventuswill did, I don’t know how I could ever cope with that.”

Leon didn’t answer for a long time. When he finally did speak, all he said was, “You okay if I leave you here alone with her?”

“Yes of course.”

It took her what felt like an eternity to get the strength to open her eyes once she finally awoke. She looked around the cottage and saw Forte sleeping propped up against the wall on the other side of the room. At first she assumed it was still night from the lack of the light streaming in from the window above her, but finally she realized it was just cloudy and grey outside. She didn’t hear any rain, but she could imagine it was on it’s way. She looked back at Forte and then up at the old antique desk against the same wall where she realized Arthur was furiously writing in a journal, his free hand pressed against his temple.

She forced herself up with all of her might and in the loudest voice she could muster- which was barely louder than a whisper- she squeaked out, “Arthur, what are you-“

She hadn’t spoken more than just his name when he jumped up and was leaning over her, the sound of which awoke Forte, who also leapt to her feet with her sword already ready. Arthur placed his hand on Frey’s forehead and soothed. “Frey, good morning! How are you? Please don’t push yourself- please lay back down; you need to rest.”

Frey couldn’t process everything he was saying because of how quickly he was going from one sentence to the next. She sputtered something not quite resembling words in response but Forte spoke over her. “Frey! You’re awake already? Arthur is right, you need to go back to sleep now.”

Frey looked back and forth between the two before she finally asked, “How long have I been…?”

“It hasn’t even been 12 hours,” Arthur said. He was keeping his voice measured to ensure it was comforting, but the twinge of the urgency that he was clearly feeling underneath seeped through. “So you need to-“

“How did we get here?”

“Forte was able to cut Leon’s ropes while Wilhelmina was focused on you, and then-“

Frey jolted at the name and sat forward in the bed. “Where _is_ Wilhelmina?”

Forte looked back at Arthur before responding, “Frey, don’t worry about her right now. You need to focus on yourself ahead of anything else.”

“We can’t just-“

“Frey, please,” Arthur said. He pushed her back down on the bed again, this time not as gently. “Frey, you need to think rationally. She was able to draw more energy from you because you’re an Earthmate. It’s not safe for you to go up against her again, not for you and not for Selphia. For once, you need to leave this one to us.”

“It’s because I’m an Earthmate that I have to help. I’m the only one who knows anything about her powers, what she’s capable of.”

“That’s not true,” Forte retorted. “Leon is a Dragon Priest. He might not be an Earthmate, but he knows a lot about all of this. We can handle it.”

She remembered having heard his voice during her limbo between life and death, and looked around the small, rustic room. “Where _is_ Leon?”

“He and I have been taking turns scouting the area, making sure we’re safe. He’s fine- he’s nearby.”

“We can’t just wait here and-“

“We’re not. Arthur and I have been working on a plan. We’ll be ready very soon. We just had to be sure that you were okay first.”

“Yes, I’m okay. And that’s why you can’t just leave me here. I can’t let her-“

Arthur stopped her. “Frey, listen. I know you want to stop Wilhelmina. I know it’s very important to you. It’s important to us too, but what’s even more important is making sure we don’t lose you in the process. You mean too much to us- to me- to let me allow that.”

Frey didn’t bother arguing. She didn’t agree, but she was much too tired, as much as she hated to admit it. She sighed and fell back onto the bed. Defeated.

Arthur squeezed her arm again. “Trust us,” he said before kissing her forehead.

“We’ll let you sleep,” Forte said quietly. Arthur nodded. He went to the desk and grabbed the journal and followed her out the door, leaving Frey alone.

“Not a smart idea,” she mouthed to herself. She didn’t have the energy to argue, but with nobody in her way now she decided she did have enough energy to sneak out the moment it got dark enough that they wouldn’t notice.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been grey and cloudy enough even before nightfall, but the woods had become a true inky black now that the sun was set behind the trees. She had let herself sleep some more to ensure she had strength enough when the time came, and while she hadn’t quite meant to sleep through to nightfall she had to admit she needed the rest.

She reached down on instinct to pat and ensure she still had her swords, but as she did so she remembered that the mercenaries had taken them. She scanned the room, her eyes only barely adjusted to the lack of light, and finally spotted her bag leaned against the side of the bed. She reached in and pulled out her longsword, thankfully untouched by Wilhelmina and her cohorts. She sheathed it on her side then did a few practice unsheathings to limber up for the inevitable.

She couldn’t hear anyone outside of the house, but she could imagine one of them- most likely Arthur- was standing guard just outside the door to keep any mercs out, and to keep her in. She stood up on the bed and was shocked by how difficult it was to just lift her body into an upright position. It was like hauling a bag of sand. She steeled herself; if she couldn’t do this then she’d have no chance facing Wilhelmina.

Frey placed her palm against the high window above the bed- now devoid of any light streaming through it- and felt for a latch in the dark. She found it quickly, but she took her time clicking it open. This house was abandoned, who knows how long, and the last thing she needed was a rusty hinge giving her plan away before she even made it out of this room. She moved slowly and steadily as she turned the lock and then pushed the window open. The hard part was hoisting her bag-of-sand body up and through the little window- just big enough for her to squeeze through. She hadn’t considered that, with the window being so high, that she would have a pretty sizeable drop when she made it through. She toppled out of the window and fell onto the ground, though luckily the thick shrubbery muffled most of the noise of her impact. It didn’t do nearly enough to help soften the shock to her already sore and damaged body, however.

After a moment to catch her breath, she was once again forcing herself to her feet and sneaking through the trees away from the small house.

Had she had the strength to argue before, she would have pointed out that without her ability as an Earthmate to sense and follow Wilhelmina’s rune power, the other three had absolutely no chance of finding her, at least without being caught again. But now that Frey knew just what kind of power that witch was carrying, all she had to do was focus and try to feel for her strength to lead her straight there.

She closed her eyes and reached out- both literally and figuratively- and soon felt the faint but unmistakable glow of rune energy in the distance. Like a beacon in her mind, she started out after that energy.

She followed the “trail” for just over an hour when she was brought to a halt. She hadn’t expected to sense what she was suddenly sensing. It was like being wrapped in damp blankets, the opposite of the bright and warm feeling she’d been pursuing. It was still ahead of her, having gotten more intense the closer she came, but almost even more intense was the oppressive lack of rune power around her. She looked around- she was entering a part of the forest that, had she not known what Wilhelmina was capable of, she would have assumed had been recently destroyed in a fire. But she knew better. Wilhelmina had sapped this and who knows how much of the surrounding forest of its runes. She kneeled down and placed her hand on the dark, sandy soil. It would take years, maybe decades of them, to repair this damage.

And for what? How could an Earthmate do something like this, no matter how much power she siphoned from it?

She felt that anger bubbling up again. She wanted Wilhelmina to suffer for this, but the more she looked at the ruined forest the more confused she felt. She had to understand what could possibly have driven her to do this. She stood again. She was getting closer, she knew it, and all she needed was to keep going a little longer.

The cracked and dry earth and gnarled remnants of trees continued around her as she went along, still heading straight for the ever-growing energy that was getting closer and closer with each labored step. It wasn’t long until she saw light up ahead, a dancing orange light that for a moment made her think that perhaps this forest really had been decimated by a fire. But as she got closer, stepping out from behind a large tree that was rotting in on itself, she found herself in a clearing and saw her- Wilhelmina. Waiting for her.

She was leaned against a large blackened oak. Her right hand was stretched out in front of her with a ball of bright orange rune energy flashing and dancing in suspended space above her fingers. The light illuminated her and Frey could see just how nonchalant her face was. She broiled as it dawned on her that Wilhelmina had probably been tracking her too, expecting her for who knows how long.

“Well, well, well. Back for more, are you Frey?” She didn’t even look up from her hand as she said this.

“I’m not here for your quips. And I don’t expect you to even answer the one real question I have for you.”

She was smiling. “Which is?”

“Why? Why are you doing this to the forest, and why are you going to attack Selphia? Why decide to do… this?”

With that her grin collapsed. “I can’t blame you for not understanding. How could you, when your memory is gone?”

“What could I possibly have lost that would explain why you’ve chosen to destroy the entire world?”

“Chosen!” She barked. “No, I never chose this! It was thrust upon me, and then I was punished for it anyway!”

“What do you mean? You said you discovered-“

“It’s pointless to explain.” Frey took a step forward and opened her mouth, ready to demand an answer, but stopped when she saw that grin spread over her face again. “I wonder… if I can show you.”

“What do you-“ Once again Frey was cut off, this time by Wilhelmina leaping forward, her palm facing outward. Frey yelped and pulled out her sword only a few inches when Wilhelmina’s palm made contact with her forehead. Then all Frey could see was a blinding light, so bright that for a long moment she was too stunned to even think. It faded away, and Frey became aware of her surroundings again.

She was no longer standing in the dark and dying forest. She was in a room with marble walls and a high ceiling surrounded by alchemy tables and library shelves. It was like Arthur’s study and Jones’ clinic rolled into one, and for a long while she studied the room silently before it finally clicked that she had somehow been transported to a laboratory. She looked back at the bookshelves and reached absently for one of the tomes, her hand caressing the spine written in what looked like Earthscript. She moved to another and then jolted in recognition. The hand she was perusing these books with wasn’t hers. That ghost-white skin, that was…

“Wilhelmina?”

She hadn’t said it, but it had been her voice. And then suddenly she wasn’t in control of her own body as she turned to look at the other person who was now in the laboratory with her. It was herself. Her hair was down and her face much younger, possibly even a decade younger.

“How is this possible?” She wanted to say, but didn’t. Instead, she felt her mouth move and the recognizable voice of the witch whose body she was now in come out. “Frey, thank you for coming. Something’s happened.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” her hands came up and clasped around the other Frey’s. “No, it’s something amazing. I think I solved it, finally!”

“The Rune Stones?!”

“Yes!” With that she and the other Frey were hugging.

All of this was too strange and it was as though Frey’s brain was on hold as it processed everything. It was ages until she started to piece together that she hadn’t been transported, not really. She was back in time, living in Wilhelmina’s memory. A memory of before everything changed. A memory of… their friendship?

The other Frey pulled away, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh Willa! I’m so excited, I knew you would figure this out!”

“Oh Frey, thank you! I would never have come anywhere close without you, you know that.” The sincerity in Wilhelmina’s voice took her aback. She grabbed Memory-Frey’s hands and led her to the lab table, alchemy fonts and inscriptions sat atop the shiny stone table. “And that’s why I wanted you to be here, because we know you’re the only one who can take this and finally make these Rune Stones happen.”

“What? Willa, no, you’re the one who’s done all the research! We would be nowhere without your hard work!”

“Please, we both know that you’re the only one of us with any talent. I did the research, but you’re the only one who can make these formulas into something real.”

Memory-Frey laughed. “Maybe you’re right, but I wasn’t about to say it out loud.” She leaned down and took the open journal in her hands. Frey looked too, through Wilhelmina’s eyes, and she could see the orate, scrawled Earthscript on the pages. She still didn’t know how to read it, but the other Frey clearly could and nodded back at Wilhelmina. “I think you figured it out. We’re really going to be able to make these Rune Stones, finally, and save the Elder Dragon once and for all. And it’s going to be thanks to you.”

“Please, it’s thanks to us.”

Frey giggled and looked back down at the journal. “We’re going to need a lot of materials to make this synthesis work. It could take some time to get everything together.”

“As long as it takes,” Wilhelmina said, “once we’re done we’ll have saved all of Norad.”

The world grew milky, and slowly the bright light consumed the entire memory. A few moments later, Frey was back in the forest clearing, the light burned in her retinas and leaving her blinded for a long moment. She blinked repeatedly and realized she was on the floor on her hands and knees. She looked up to see Wilhelmina sitting with her legs crossed, her eye trained on Frey.

“Wilhelmina…” Frey breathed. “I still don’t understand. We… were partners?”

She nodded slowly. “We researched together. You and I, we were working to create the Rune Stones that that dragon needed to keep her alive.”

“So…” Frey considered for a long time. “I still don’t see how you… If we were working to make the stones, how were you…”

“Banished?” Her lips curled into a rueful, toothy grin. Frey nodded. “Because I was wrong. That formula backfired. It was my fault, I suppose.” She put up both hands and let a warm ball of light bloom between her outstretched fingers. “It was supposed to synthesize Rune Energy, but I miscalculated, and instead that synthesis collapsed. And we realized what I had created by mistake- an energy syphon.”

Frey furrowed her brow. “You’re really trying to tell me you were banished because of… a mistake? You think I’m that naïve?”

“You think I would lie to you?”

“You tried to kill me not even 24 hours ago, so…”

Wilhelmina huffed. “You were trying to kill me.”

“Because you sent mercenaries to attack Selphia!”

“Which had nothing to do with you. I assumed, since I got the news that that dragon had died, that no Earthmate ever was able to get the Stones to her. Forgive me for not foreseeing that you would go and end up with your memory gone.”

Frey wanted to shout at her to never mention Venti as callously as she just had but bit her tongue. “My point is, I find it hard to believe that you would be banished for accidentally creating the power to steal Runes from things. And if we were working together- If I was the one who actually performed that synthesis- why wouldn’t we both be banished?”

Wilhelmina’s face was like stone. “You asked if I think you’re that naïve as to believe me, but the truth is I think you’re naïve because you don’t. You lost your memories so I can’t blame you, not really, and you always were a selfless person. It was your nature to care. You must think that’s how we all were.”

“It was. Until last night.”

“I cared too. I did. I wanted to save that dragon, to replenish the Runes that had been depleted. But those Earthmates that you’ve revered couldn’t take the risk of trusting that. When you read that inscription, when our alchemy backfired, I tried to contain it. And when they saw the power that I had accidentally awarded myself-“ the light in her hands grew larger, more intense. It was a small sun, illuminating the entire clearing. “-they were convinced that nobody could do something like this by mistake. My intentions, my discovery- and it was still a monumental discovery, Frey, even you can’t deny that- all of that didn’t matter in the face of their ignorance and their pride.”

“Your intentions?” It was Frey’s turn to laugh. “If your intentions really were pure, what did you spend the entire last decade doing, then? Have you been trying to show them they were wrong? Or have you just proven them right?”

“How dare you judge me, when-“

“When what? When you’ve done this?” She gestured to the dead trees all around them. “You want me to pity you for all the damage you’ve knowingly done? For planning on destroying my home?”

“Your home? You mean Selphia?” Wilhelmina scoffed. “You failed to save that dragon and just decided to take up roots there?”

This time Frey couldn’t stop herself. She clenched her hands over her sword’s hilt and snapped, “You have no right to speak about her that way! She gave her life to protect all of us, even you!”

“I don’t want her protection. I don’t need it.”

“No, you want her Runes, don’t you? That’s why you’re heading there. To take the Runes she left behind when she left us. I understand you now.”

She smirked. “Oh really?”

“You want to believe that because you were hurt, that you’re owed something by everyone else. You want to take out that anger on us and on Selphia. But what does that solve?”

“It would make me powerful enough to rule all of Norad and the Earth Kingdom, for a start.”

“But is that going to make you feel any better? What the Earthmates did to you was wrong, but look at yourself! You think all of that makes _this_ right?”

“I’ve humored this lecture long enough,” Wilhelmina said, standing up. The Rune energy in her hands swirled around her a moment before drawing back into Wilhelmina’s chest. “I had hoped that I could remind you of our friendship all those years past and you would understand, but clearly losing your memory has made you weak. You were a kind person, but now… now you’re just stupid.” She shook her head mockingly. “It’s probably for the best, though. I work better alone, and you would have just slowed me down.”

Frey scrambled back as Wilhelmina threw her fist at her, a blaze of fire blooming in the center and licking out from between her fingers. Frey rolled backwards, fully unsheathing her sword just in time to swing it up and block an array of fireballs. She put up a barrier and scrambled to her feet just in time to dodge another battery of fireballs.

She sent swirls of wind at Wilhelmina, extinguishing the flames once again heading her way. But now she was plunged back into darkness. “Damn,” she breathed, straining to see.

Out of the darkness, Wilhelmina’s white hand grabbed onto her arm, her fingernails digging into her skin. Once again she could feel the energy being sapped from her and she wrestled her hand away. Suddenly she felt dizzy, heavy… She lost her footing and braced herself as she fell. Once again Wilhelmina was sending fireballs and she used all of her strength to roll out of the way.

The ground was too dry to erupt in flames, but those few embers were just enough to let Frey see Wilhelmina about to make impact once again with her fist. Frey cast a jet of water at her with her free hand. Wilhelmina was tossed back but steeled herself almost immediately, dispelling the water jets with a flick of the wrist. Only moments later, the torrent was inverted and blasting at Frey, who had been trying to get back on her feet but was once again knocked back.

“Let’s finish this,” Wilhelmina snarled, reaching out her hand to once again grab Frey. She crawled backward- it was all she could do. She knew it was over now, though. She squeezed her eyes shut and-

Wilhelmina screeched, making Frey’s eyes snap open. She was clutching her wrist, a deep gash and bright red blood bubbling up on her forearm. To her right Frey heard a sharp ‘thunk’. She turned her head- Leon’s spear was there embedded in the ground. “What is…?”

The next thing she knew, Forte was there, swinging her broadsword at Wilhelmina. Now she was the one scrambling backward, her face starting to betray her surprise.

Leon rushed past her, quickly shouted, “Hey there Frey,” grabbed his spear, and turned to join Forte. Frey struggled up into a sitting position, her shaking arms reduced to jelly. Arthur ran over and steadied her.

“It’s okay, we’re here, Frey. Stay with me.” He patted her cheek as though to wake her.

“I’m…” She exhaled, her breath shallow. “I’m fine, Arthur. I’m… sorry for…”

“Don’t worry about that. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Frey looked past Arthur to see Leon and Forte corner Wilhelmina against a tree, the bark peeling off and crumbling to ash when she impacted with it. For a moment she breathed out a sigh of relief, but the next thing she knew they were tossed back by heavy gales of wind. Wilhelmina’s teeth were clenched and she hissed, “Nice try. A very nice try. But I have entertained you all long enough. Lucky for you, I have a place to be.”

Forte swung her sword and shouted “no!” but in a flash of light, Wilhelmina was gone and left them all alone in the ruined clearing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Once again, this great art was made by [kyalpico](kyalpico.tumblr.com) and you should seriously check out their blog for more art!)

The four stood in silence for a long moment. Frey steeled herself to keep from collapsing and Arthur took her hands in his. “Are you okay, Frey?”

She didn’t respond, but tears welled in her eyes. She tried to fight them back but it wasn’t long before the tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Frey?”

“I let Venti down. She’s only getting more powerful and now she’s on her way to Selphia, and I failed. I couldn’t stop her.”

“You haven’t let anyone down. You can’t expect yourself to be able to handle this alone. We’re here, Frey. And as long as we stand together and keep fighting, Wilhelmina hasn’t won.”

“But how… how are we going to…”

He grabbed her hand and then pulled her into a tight embrace. “We can do this, Frey. We’re a family. We’ve always known we can count on you, and you just need to count on us.”

She looked down. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have gone out on my own like that. I just… I felt like it was my responsibility to Venti. But if it hadn’t been for you, Forte, and Leon, I would be dead now. I’m sorry that I didn’t see that before.”

Leon sat down next to her, leaning back on his arms which he was propping himself up on. “Hey, we all make mistakes.”

Frey laughed. “Some of us more than others.”

Forte paced back and forth in front of them. Arthur looked up at her. “What are you thinking, Forte?”

“She’s on her way to Selphia now. If we go now, maybe we can cut her off before she gets there.” She looked back and her eyes connected with Frey’s. “This isn’t over yet. Like Arthur said, we can still stop her.”

Arthur took her hands in his and asked, “Are you good to walk?”

Frey took two deep breaths. “Yeah, I think I am.”

“If you need me to carry you-“

She leaned forward laboriously and kissed him. “Thank you, Arthur. I’m fine. Let’s end this.”

Leon hopped to his feet. “We’ll have to be fast if we’re going to beat her there.”

“That’s not true.” Frey stood and held out her hands. “Here. I think I have enough energy left for the four of us.”

“She drained a lot of your Runes, are you sure you have the strength to teleport all of us at once?”

“Lets hope,” Frey giggled. The others grasped her hands- Leon placed his hand on her shoulder- and blue light swirled around them, and in the blink of an eye the four were back home. Frey let out the exhale of breath she was holding and began to exclaim her excitement at actually having made it, but her joy quickly dissipated when she saw the throng of Wilhelmina’s mercenaries approaching toward the gates.

“Where does she find these guys?” Leon groaned.

“For somebody who talks so much about working alone, she sure has a lot of underlings,” Frey said.

Leon scoffed. “She’s really fooling herself there.”

He looked over at Frey expecting some kind of laugh, but instead she was wide-eyed in realization. “You’re right. She is.”

“What?”

Frey didn’t answer and instead rushed to the gate. Leon looked over at Arthur and Forte. “Do you two know what she’s saying?”

“No, but I think she has a plan,” Arthur responded.

“Think it’s better than her last one?”

“I hope so,” Forte said.

A team of dragon knights were there at the gate. Frey fell into line with them. “How many are there?”

“Probably two dozen. I believe we can handle them.”

“It’s not them I’m worried about.” Frey turned and saw Dylas and Vishnal fighting some of the mercenaries on the front of the enemy’s line. When Vishnal saw her he ran over and met her. He started to greet her but she cut him off. “Has a woman with black and orange hair shown up at all?”

“Not yet. Is that Wilhelmina? Did you find her?”

“More like she found us.” Another man ran at them and the two both raised swords in unison at him, knocking him back not even a minute later. She turned back to Vishnal. “It looks like you guys have this handled.”

“Of course, Princess!”

“I’m going to meet Wilhelmina. You and Dylas keep these guys back.”

“Be careful,” he said before turning and fighting back another advancing mercenary.

She rushed through the men and women, throwing up barriers to block their attacks and push past them. All the while, she repeatedly shouted, “Wilhelmina!”

She got through to the back of the line, scanning through the trees. “Wilhelmina? Where are you?”

“You really don’t learn, do you?” Frey turned on her heel to face her. Wilhelmina continued, “I’m impressed that you beat us here, but this is another pointless fight.”

“I’m not here to fight you, Willa.”

Wilhelmina shook, as if hit by an electric shock. “What?!”

“I finally understand. You don’t have to do this, okay? You don’t have to be alone. You never were. I forgot you, and I’m sorry, but I’m willing to stand by you again. We all are.”

She clenched her entire body. “I told you that you were stupid before, but this-“

“And you were right before. I didn’t understand, because I was blinded by my own anger towards you to see that what we needed wasn’t to fight you. We needed to be here for you.”

Wilhelmina growled. “How noble of you. Unfortunately, you’re too late.”

The ground below them quaked and the trees shriveled before their eyes. Frey braced herself and maintained eye contact. “Please, Willa, don’t do this.”

“Shut up!” Her shout sent shockwaves that knocked Frey onto her back. “Don’t speak to me like some friend! Those days are long gone!” Everything shook and the path broke into deep cracks.

“Willa, I’m not giving up on you-“ Wilhelmina screamed over her. Frey was rocked as the cracks grew into fissures. She forced herself back up and shouted, “I’m not going away this time!”

She shook again, but this time it continued for much longer. Suddenly a shockwave erupted from her, flinging Frey yards away. She tumbled and Vishnal ran and caught her. “Frey, what is happening?!”

Before Frey could answer, something clutched her, crushing her entire body in a giant fist. Vishnal clung to her but she was yanked away from his grasp and raised up, up, up- she was high above the trees, which were cracking and falling all around them. She looked at what was holding her. It was like an arm but it wasn’t- it was like a living tornado, Rune energy zapping through like blood through a bloodstream. She followed down the arm and saw the giant figure it was attached to. What had once been Wilhelmina had become something else.

“Willa…”

To her surprise, the thing-that-was-once-Wilhelmina spoke. It was still her voice, but it boomed around her and rang in her ears. “Why don’t I give you some one-on-one time with your ‘home’? Give you some time to say goodbye.”

Frey began to protest but the rush of wind and electricity drowned her out as Wilhelmina threw her directly at the castle. She held her breath and with the last of her strength put up a barrier around herself as she impacted with the stone wall. The barrier shattered like glass and bounced her off the wall. She still made a hard impact with ground but after a moment of checking that she still had all of her limbs she counted herself lucky to have managed to survive that. She didn’t have time to revel in that, though, as more quakes sent stone falling down on top of her and she had to roll out of the way to keep herself from having her ‘surviving this day’ celebration cut short.

Wilhelmina drew closer, the wind blowing Frey’s twintails loose. The castle continued collapsing and Frey looked around the courtyard- there were people bracing themselves against the walls and shielding themselves from the falling rocks all around her, both citizens of Selphia as well as Wilhelmina’s own people. Across the square, Clorica and Volkanon were leading people away to safety. On the other side Arthur was doing the same for a couple of crying children. Frey looked up at Wilhelmina and stood back up.

“You’re still alive?!” She screeched, sending torrents of water and wind at Frey. She put up another barrier.

“Willa, please! I get it now! I understand how alone you’ve felt all this time.”

“You could _never_ understand!”

“But I do, Willa! After we lost Venti, I thought I was alone too! I’ve thought I alone held the responsibility to stop you, but I don’t! Look around you- look at all of these people, fighting together- I was never alone, never!”

“What does that have anything to do with-“

“Don’t you understand? You don’t have to be alone either! You didn’t understand why I decided this was my home, but it was because of the people! The friendship and love they’ve shown me- the trust from day one- you can have that too.”

“These people would be foolish to trust me.”

“No Willa. I told you, I understand. It’s not them trusting you that you’re worried about. You’re afraid to trust them.”

She roared and magic sails of wind ripped at Frey. “Afraid?!”

“Because of what happened before, you think that-“

“Don’t ever assume you know what I think!”

“Look around you! These are good, selfless people! They took me in with open arms and forgave every mistake I’ve made. And even now they’re taking care of each other.”

Another screech from Wilhelmina. But Frey just continued.

“They accepted me into their family, Willa. If you stop this, we would forgive you. You could be in this family too.” Frey reached out her hands, palms up. “Please, Willa.”

Around them, Frey heard the sounds of clattered weapons. She glanced around the ruins of the square and saw Arthur, Leon, even Dylas had mirrored her. All around them the people of Selphia had dropped their weapons and stretched out their hands to beckon Wilhelmina in. She looked back up at Wilhelmina, who had frozen. She couldn’t know for sure, but she bet Wilhelmina was scanning over the entire courtyard at the dozens of hands stretching up at her.

The silence drew on for just a moment longer before the wind picked back up in a roar, sheets of energy once again slapping at Frey. “No!” Wilhelmina boomed. “You call this a family, but I know how fickle that ‘family’ love can be!”

Another shake. Behind Frey the castle rocked and then finally collapsed. Frey’s voice could barely be heard over it as it crashed to the ground. “Willa, you need to stop! You don’t know what this much Rune energy could do to you!”

Wilhelmina either couldn’t hear her or didn’t care. More and more light swirled around her, the towering figure growing even larger. The barrier around Frey was ripped apart and she had to grab onto a large piece of stone to keep from being tossed through the rushing air. The orange light shooting through the “body” had turned a deep red and was zapping all around her, until suddenly the light swelled and enveloped her entire being. A high-pitched wailing ripped through the sky in all directions, and the next thing Frey new that light was exploding all around them. She was tossed against the other rocks that had once been the castle by a force that knocked out all of her breath. She was left deaf and blind by the sound and the flash. It was a long moment before the light cleared from her eyes. She blinked repeatedly and when she finally could see again, she became aware of the blankets of Runeys pouring down from the sky.

Arthur ran over and kneeled down beside her. She was still looking up at the sky as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Frey, are you-?”

“It was too much for her. Too much for one person.”

She stood, using Arthur as a crutch, and the two approached the crater that the giant figure had been standing in. There at the bottom, there she was- Wilhelmina, once again human, and now fully unconscious. She looked up at the others who were now gathering around. “Are you all okay?”

Dylas looked down at Wilhelmina, ignoring her question. “Did you mean what you said? Do we have to just… forgive her now?”

Forte looked back at the ruins that were once the castle. “We could put her in the dungeon for a while first. How does that sound?”

Frey sighed. “Arthur, could you help me down there? We need to get her out of that hole.”

\---

When Wilhelmina opened her eyes, the world took a long while to come into focus. Everything was a soft blur, bright but vague. She had no idea where she was and after about five minutes of adjusting her sight she finally could make out wooden beams and a vaulted ceiling- she was... inside a building? She turned her head, trying to make sense of her surroundings, when a low voice she didn’t recognize spoke up. “Hey, don’t push yourself.”

She blinked. Before her was a girl, probably early twenties, wearing an ornate dress. She sat up. “Where…?”

“You’re at the clinic here in Selphia,” the girl answered, forcing Wilhelmina back down. “I’m sorry to wake you- I was just about to change your bandages for some clean ones.”

“Bandages? What are you-“ She looked down at her arm where she’d been hit by that spear and saw a cloth wrapped from her wrist to her elbow. Despite this girl’s implication that they were unclean, the cloth was still stark white. She wondered how long she’d been in that bed and how many times the bandages had been changed. She looked back at her. “Why? Why did you-?”

“We couldn’t just let you bleed out,” a small voice peeped from behind the girl, and that was when she noticed a child standing behind her. “Hi! I’m Pico, and this is Dolly! We work here at the clinic!”

Wilhelmina merely blinked at the two. She asked again, “Why are you healing me?”

“That’s what we do. Now lie still, Willa.” Wilhelmina started to exclaim in surprise but Dolce spoke over her. “You’re not ready to get up yet.”

Wilhelmina was silent for a long time before she finally said, “You know what I’ve done. So what happens when I am ready to get up? Do I go and spend eternity in the dungeon? Are you sending me to the king to have me dealt with by the executioner?”

“Don’t be silly!” Pico laughed.

Dolce took her arm and began removing the ‘dirty’ bandage. “I suppose you’re free to go anywhere you’d like, really.”

She scoffed. “Please. You think I’ll fall for something like that?”

The clinic’s door swung open. Dolce looked up and smiled at the visiter. “Oh, Frey. Good timing. She woke up.” She turned back to Wilhelmina. “She visits you every day. You should thank her.”

Frey approached. “Willa! How do you feel?”

Wilhelmina narrowed her eyes at her. The silence was finally broken by Dolce. “Well, I’m finished here. I’ll give you two some space.”

“Byeeee, Willa!” Pico said in sing-song as she followed Dolce up the stairs to the second floor.

Frey stepped closer. “I was worried you weren’t going to wake up. I’m so happy to-“

“Don’t play games with me.” Wilhelmina sat up. “What is going on here?”

“I told you, Willa. We are going to be here for you. Once you’re all better, you can leave if you want, but we’ve found a room in the inn for you to stay in for now while we rebuild. There’s room enough in the castle, or once the housing district is rebuilt you could move in there.”

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to prove some point?”

“No, of course not. But we were friends. And I promised I’d stay by your side this time.”

“And what, every other person in town is just… fine with that?”

“Some people are going to need some time to come around, but it’s like I said. These are good people. If you decide to stay, we’ll be here for you.” Frey smiled warmly through all of this. “Anyway, you just woke up and I’m sure you want some time alone for now. But if you need me I’m just outside. Literally. Because I’m rebuilding right next door.” She laughed. “And don’t worry, we’re all here for you, so anything you need, leave it to us.”

Wilhelmina said nothing as Frey turned and walked out the door. Before the door swung back closed she shouted, “Frey?”

Frey stopped the door just before it shut and pushed her head back in. “Yes, Willa?”

She hesitated. “Thank you. Maybe… Maybe I’ll try trusting you and your family, just this one time.”

Frey beamed. “I’m glad to hear that.” She lingered in the door a moment longer before leaving.

Wilhelmina leaned her head back against the pillow. Maybe Frey really had been right. Maybe people- some people- could be trusted after all.


End file.
